Kaleidoscience: Conversations on Cognitive Science

Imogen Hüsing, Sophie Kühne, Sönke Lülf, Elisa Palme

Kaleidoscience is a podcast interviewing guests across the field of Cognitive Science. We explore questions such as what it means to be conscious, what AI might think, how the brain processes language - and much more. Find the answers to questions you may or may not have asked yourself. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaleidoscience_pod/ Produced by: Imogen Hüsing, Clara Kühne, Sophie Kühne, Sönke Lülf and Elisa Palme Logo by: Annika Richter Music by: Jan-Luca Schröder

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  1. 2025-10-30

    S3 #38 How can AI model the sensorimotor system? Brain-to-brain with Dr. Tonio Weidler.

    Related papers: Weidler, T. (2025). The mechanism at hand: A goal-driven approach to modeling the human sensorimotor system. (https://cris.maastrichtuniversity.nl/en/publications/the-mechanism-at-hand-a-goal-driven-approach-to-modeling-the-huma) Doerig, A., Sommers, R.P., Seeliger, K. et al. The neuroconnectionist research programme. Nat Rev Neurosci 24, 431–450 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41583-023-00705-w Kriegeskorte, N., Douglas, P.K. Cognitive computational neuroscience. Nat Neurosci 21, 1148–1160 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-018-0210-5 Podcast Credits: Produced by: Imogen Hüsing, Clara Kühne, Sophie Kühne, Sönke Lülf and Elisa Palme Logo by: Annika Richter Music by: Jan-Luca Schröder Write us an email to: kaleidopod@uos.de Contact us on Instagram: @kaleidoscience_pod

    1h 5m

  2. 2025-11-13

    S3 #39 What do hormones have to do with everything from menstruation to menopause? Brain-to-brain with Franziska Weinmar.

    Papers: Zsido, R. G., Williams, A. N., Barth, C., Serio, B., Kurth, L., Mildner, T., … & Sacher, J. (2023). Ultra-high-field 7T MRI reveals changes in human medial temporal lobe volume in female adults during menstrual cycle. Nature Mental Health, 1(10), 761-771. Gottschewsky, N., Kraft, D., & Kaufmann, T. (2024). Menarche, pubertal timing and the brain: female-specific patterns of brain maturation beyond age-related development. Biology of sex Differences, 15(1), 25. Pletzer, B., Bodenbach, H., Hoehn, M., Hajdari, L., Hausinger, T., Noachtar, I., & Beltz, A. M. (2024). Reproducible stability of verbal and spatial functions along the menstrual cycle. Neuropsychopharmacology, 49(6), 933-941. Pletzer, B., Harris, T. A., Scheuringer, A., & Hidalgo-Lopez, E. (2019). The cycling brain: menstrual cycle related fluctuations in hippocampal and fronto-striatal activation and connectivity during cognitive tasks. Neuropsychopharmacology, 44(11), 1867-1875. Pletzer, B., Harris, T., & Hidalgo-Lopez, E. (2018). Subcortical structural changes along the menstrual cycle: beyond the hippocampus. Scientific reports, 8(1), 16042. Podcast of the International Research Training Group IRTG 2804: Example for the mentioned graph: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44294-025-00078-8/figures/1 Podcast Credits: Produced by: Imogen Hüsing, Clara Kühne, Sophie Kühne, Sönke Lülf and Elisa Palme Logo by: Annika Richter Music by: Jan-Luca Schröder Write us an email to: kaleidopod@uos.de Contact us on Instagram: @kaleidoscience_pod

    58 min

  3. 2025-11-27

    S3 #40 How do hormones influence our cognition? Brain-to-brain with Assoc. Prof. Caroline Gurvich.

    https://research.monash.edu/en/persons/caroline-gurvich Related papers: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40251875 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41074674 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41122799 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39255423 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35878526 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30154388 Podcast Credits: Produced by: Imogen Hüsing, Clara Kühne, Sophie Kühne, Sönke Lülf and Elisa Palme Logo by: Annika Richter Music by: Jan-Luca Schröder Write us an email to: kaleidopod@uos.de Contact us on Instagram: @kaleidoscience_pod

    56 min

  4. 2025-12-11

    S3 #41 What is the effect of stress hormones on cognition? Brain-to-brain with Dr. Katja Langer.

    Related papers: Langer, K., Wolf, O. T., Merz, C. J., & Jentsch, V. L. (2025). The effects of stress hormones on cognitive emotion regulation: A systematic review and integrative model. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 106040. Langer, K., Jentsch, V. L., & Wolf, O. T. (2023). Rapid effects of acute stress on cognitive emotion regulation. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 151, 106054. Langer, K., Jentsch, V. L., & Wolf, O. T. (2022). Cortisol promotes the cognitive regulation of high intensive emotions independent of timing. European Journal of Neuroscience, 55(9-10), 2684-2698. Langer, K., Hagedorn, B., Stock, L. M., Otto, T., Wolf, O. T., & Jentsch, V. L. (2020). Acute stress improves the effectivity of cognitive emotion regulation in men. Sci. Rep. 10, 11571. Langer, K., Jentsch, V. L., & Wolf, O. T. (2022). Acute stress influences strategy preference when dealing with high intensity emotions in men. Biological Psychology, 169, 108264. Katja’s department: www.cog.psy.ruhr-uni-bochum.de Katja’s researchgate profile: www.researchgate.net/profile/Katja-Langer-4 Podcast Credits: Produced by: Imogen Hüsing, Clara Kühne, Sophie Kühne, Sönke Lülf and Elisa Palme Logo by: Annika Richter Music by: Jan-Luca Schröder Write us an email to: kaleidopod@uos.de Contact us on Instagram: @kaleidoscience_pod

    1h 1m

  5. Jan 15

    S3 #42 What does the research say about Science Communication? Brain-to-brain with Prof. Rainer Bromme.

    Literature: Bromme, R. (2025). Objektiv und unabhängig, aber auch wirksam für das Gemeinwohl: Vertrauen im Kontext öffentlicher Erwartungen an Wissenschaft. In P. Sandermann & V. Schwenker (Eds.), Trust Issues!? - Vertrauen in modernen Gesellschaften. (pp. 233-243). transcript. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.14361/9783839470879 Bromme, R. (2025). Wissenschaftskommunikation. In P. Pasternack, G. Reinmann, & C. Schneijderberg (Eds.), Hochschulforschung: Forschung über Hochschule und Wissenschaft (pp. 511-520). Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG. https://doi.org/10.5771/9783748943334 Bromme, R., & Gierth, L. (2021). Rationality and the public understanding of science. In M. Knauff & W. Spohn (Eds.), Handbook of Rationality (pp. 767-776). MIT Press: Cambridge, MA. Bromme, R., Mede, N., Thomm, E., Kremer, B., & Ziegler, R. (2022). An anchor in troubled times: Trust in science before and within the COVID-19 pandemic. PLoS ONE 17(2):e0262823. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262823 Bromme, R. & Hendriks, F. (2023). Trust in science: considering whom to trust for knowing what is true. In R.C. Mayer & B. Mayer (Eds.). A Research Agenda for Trust: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (pp. 37-49). Massachusetts: Edward Elgar Publishing. https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/a-research-agenda-for-trust-9781802200935.html Bromme, R. (2022). Informiertes Vertrauen in Wissenschaft: Lehren aus der COVID-19 Pandemie für das Verständnis naturwissenschaftlicher Grundbildung (scientific literacy). Unterrichtswissenschaft, 50(3), 331-345. doi:10.1007/s42010-022-00159-6 Hendriks, F. & Bromme, R. (2022). Researchers’ Public Engagement in the Context of Interdisciplinary Research Programs: Learning and Reflection from Boundary Crossing. Science Communication, 44(6), 693-718. doi:10.1177/10755470221137052 Wintterlin, F., Hendriks, F., Mede, N. G., Bromme, R., Metag, J., & Schäfer, M. S. (2022). Predicting public trust in science: The role of basic orientations toward science, perceived trustworthiness of scientists, and experiences with science. Frontiers in Communication, 6:822757. doi:10.3389/fcomm.2021.822757 2021 Bromme, R., & Gierth, L. (2021). Rationality and the public understanding of science. In M. Knauff & W. Spohn (Eds.), Handbook of Rationality (pp. 767-776). MIT Press: Cambridge, MA. Podcast Credits: Produced by: Imogen Hüsing, Clara Kühne, Sophie Kühne, Sönke Lülf and Elisa Palme Logo by: Annika Richter Music by: Jan-Luca Schröder Write us an email to: kaleidopod@uos.de Contact us on Instagram: @kaleidoscience_pod

    1h 21m

  6. Jan 29

    S3 #43 How do parasocial relationships with chatbots form? Brain-to-brain with Takuya Maeda.

    References: https://apnews.com/article/chatbot-ai-lawsuit-suicide-teen-artificial-intelligence-9d48adc572100822fdbc3c90d1456bd0 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/23/technology/characterai-lawsuit-teen-suicide.html https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/meta-ai-chatbot-guidelines/ https://www.reuters.com/business/meta-created-flirty-chatbots-taylor-swift-other-celebrities-without-permission-2025-08-29/ https://futurism.com/woman-suicide-openai-therapist https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/family-teenager-died-suicide-alleges-openais-chatgpt-blame-rcna226147 https://itif.org/publications/2025/05/21/ai-companions-risk-over-regulation-with-state-legislation/ https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/companion-ai-emotional-support-chatbots-1.7620087 https://nypost.com/2025/05/12/lifestyle/woman-married-to-an-ai-robot/ https://metro.co.uk/2025/07/14/married-ai-bot-human-wife-doesnt-mind-23628030/ https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/M/bo3618528.html https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2007-13558-002 https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3442188.3445922 https://www.ruhabenjamin.com/race-after-technology Podcast Credits: Produced by: Imogen Hüsing, Clara Kühne, Sophie Kühne, Sönke Lülf and Elisa Palme Logo by: Annika Richter Music by: Jan-Luca Schröder Write us an email to: kaleidopod@uos.de Contact us on Instagram: @kaleidoscience_pod

    1h 4m

  7. Feb 15

    S3 #44 How should machines translate sensitive language? Brain-to-brain with Sabrina Frohn.

    Sabrina’s linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabrina-frohn/ Papers: not THE implicit bias paper but one explaining implicit and explicit bias: “Social Justice in Our Minds, Homes, and Society: The Nature, Causes, and Consequences of Implicit Bias” by Laurie A. Rudman, 10.1023/B:SORE.0000027406.32604.f6 about the implicit association test I mentioned: https://www.projectimplicit.net/nosek/iat/default.html (I was not able to find the study I participated in, but I assume it is similar to this, perhaps was even based on this.) bias in machine translations: „Gender Bias in Machine Translation Systems“ Stefanie Ullmann et al., isbn: 978-3-030-88615-8 “What about em? How Commercial Machine Translation Fails to Handle (Neo-)Pronouns, Lauscher et al., 10.48550/arXiv.2305.16051 comparing LLM and MT “Benchmarking Machine Translation with Cultural Awareness” by Binwei Yao, 10.48550/arXiv.2305.14328 „Evaluating Gender Bias in Machine Translation“, Stanovski et al., 10.18653/v1/P19-1164 machtsprache: https://www.machtsprache.de/ macht.sprache plugins: chrome: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/machtsprache-for-sensitiv/dichlnekfmanlagciihdnkgiefppilol firefox: addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/macht-sprache/ interesting reads: „The complexities of linguistic discrimination“, Drożdżowicz et al., 10.1080/09515089.2024.2307993 “On the Translation of Otherness: The Univocal Case of Will Grayson, Will Grayson”, Badenes, 10.7202/1068906ar “Word embeddings quantify 100 years of gender and ethnic stereotypes”, Garg et al., 10.1073/pnas.1720347115 https://pocolit.com/ Sabrina’s paper: https://publications.waset.org/10014353/bibtex Podcast Credits: Produced by: Imogen Hüsing, Clara Kühne, Sophie Kühne, Sönke Lülf and Elisa Palme Logo by: Annika Richter Music by: Jan-Luca Schröder Write us an email to: kaleidopod@uos.de Contact us on Instagram: @kaleidoscience_pod

    1h 5m

  8. Mar 12

    S3 #45 How do children learn adjectives? Brain-to-brain with Charlotte Uhlemann.

    References: Kennedy, C., & McNally, L. (2005). Scale structure, degree modification, and the semantics of gradable predicates. Language, 81(2), 345-381. Kennedy, C. (2007). Vagueness and grammar: The semantics of relative and absolute gradable adjectives. Linguistics and philosophy, 30(1), 1-45. Syrett, K. (2024). Challenges and Strategies for Acquiring Adjectives. Language and Linguistics Compass, 18(6), e70000. https://doi.org/10.1111/lnc3.70000 Tribushinina, E. (2018). Acquisition of adjectives across languages and populations: What’s wrong with them? Cahiers Du Centre de Linguistique et Des Sciences Du Langage, (56), 259–275. https://doi.org/10.26034/la.cdclsl.2018.257 Tribushinina, E., Van Den Bergh, H., Kilani-Schoch, M., Aksu-Koç, A., Dabašinskienė, I., Hrzica, G., … & Dressler, W. (2013). The role of explicit contrast in adjective acquisition: A cross-linguistic longitudinal study of adjective production in spontaneous child speech and parental input. First Language, 33(6), 594-616. Ricks, S. L., & Alt, M. (2016). Theoretical principles to guide the teaching of adjectives to children who struggle with word learning: Synthesis of experimental and naturalistic research with principles of learning theory. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 47(3), 181-190. Uhlemann, C., Wartenburger, I., & Hilton, M. (2023). Express yourself! Die Diagnostikinstrumente frühkindlicher Sprachentwicklung FRAKIS und SETK-2 im Vergleich. Spektrum Patholinguistik| 15, 107. Podcast Credits: Produced by: Imogen Hüsing, Clara Kühne, Sophie Kühne, Sönke Lülf and Elisa Palme Logo by: Annika Richter Music by: Jan-Luca Schröder Write us an email to: kaleidopod@uos.de Contact us on Instagram: @kaleidoscience_pod

    51 min

  9. Mar 26

    S3 #46 Why should we be vigilant when politicians talk? Brain-to-brain with Prof. Nicole Gotzner.

    The discussed paper: Gotzner, N. (accepted). Does it matter what is said and who said it? The interpretation of Trump’s and Harris’ statements in Republican and Democrat voters. To appear in Open Mind. PsyArXiv: https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/a4u52_v1 References: Kuperwasser, I., & Shetreet, E. (2025). Beyond stereotypes: Cognitive abilities underlying social meaning. Journal of Pragmatics, 242, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2025.03.014 Sperber, D., Clément, F., Heintz, C., Mascaro, O., Mercier, H., Origgi, G., & Wilson, D. (2010). Epistemic vigilance. Mind & Language, 25(4), 359–393. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0017.2010.01394.x Grice, H. P. (1975). Logic and conversation. In Speech acts (pp. 41-58). Brill. The mentioned shirt: https://www.netflix.shop/en-de/products/stranger-things-comfort-colors-t-shirt-beam-me-up Podcast Credits: Produced by: Imogen Hüsing, Clara Kühne, Sophie Kühne, Sönke Lülf and Elisa Palme Logo by: Annika Richter Music by: Jan-Luca Schröder Write us an email to: kaleidopod@uos.de Contact us on Instagram: @kaleidoscience_pod

    41 min

  10. Apr 9

    S3 #47 Does sign language change your brain? Brain-to-brain with Dr. Karen Emmorey.

    Literature: Emmorey, K. (2023). Ten things you should know about sign languages. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 32(5), 387-394. The lab of Dr. Karen Emmorey: https://llcn.sdsu.edu/ Podcast Credits: Produced by: Imogen Hüsing, Clara Kühne, Sophie Kühne, Sönke Lülf and Elisa Palme Logo by: Annika Richter Music by: Jan-Luca Schröder Write us an email to: kaleidopod@uos.de Contact us on Instagram: @kaleidoscience_pod

    1h 3m

  11. Apr 30

    S3 #48 What happens in the brain of your cat? Brain-to-brain with Dr. Sevim Isparta and Prof. Nadja Freund.

    The study on cat sleeping position that we talked about: https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(25)00507-X The study on cats and problem solving abilities that was mentioned: https://www.bio.psy.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/bpsy/mam/content/papers/isparta_et.al.2020_12072.pdf The press release (in german): https://news.rub.de/presseinformationen/wissenschaft/2025-07-28-citizen-science-projekt-katzenvideos-machen-fuer-die-forschung Podcast Credits: Produced by: Imogen Hüsing, Clara Kühne, Sophie Kühne, Sönke Lülf and Elisa Palme Logo by: Annika Richter Music by: Jan-Luca Schröder Write us an email to: kaleidopod@uos.de Contact us on Instagram: @kaleidoscience_pod

    57 min

  12. 12 hrs ago

    S3 #49 How does playing make birds smarter? Brain-to-brain with Prof. Gisela Kaplan.

    Some book publications: Kaplan, Gisela (2019) Bird Bonds: Sex, mate-choice and cognition in Australian native birds. Macmillan/Pan Macmillan Australia, Sydney. (ISBN 978-1-76055-420-0, pbk. 354 pp) Kaplan, Gisela (2019) Australian Magpie: Biology and Behaviour of an Unusual Songbird. 2nd edition, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne. 2nd ed., ISBN 9781486307241, pbk., 270 pp.  Kaplan, G. (2018) Tawny Frogmouth. 2nd ed., CSIRO, Melbourne. ISBN 9781486308163, pbk. 168 pp. (1st ed. 2007, ISBN 9780643092396, pbk. 155 pp.) Kaplan, G. (2015) Bird Minds. Cognition and Behaviour of Australian Native Birds. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne. 286 pp. (incl. a 15-page Appendix on brain size and life history data of Australian birds). ISBN 9781486300181. Reprint with corrections of 2015 publication (epdf: 9781486300198; epub: 9781486300204) Some relevant papers:    1. Kaplan, G. (2024). The evolution of social play in songbirds, parrots and cockatoos- emotional or highly complex cognitive behaviour or both? Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105621      2. Rogers, L.J. and Kaplan, G. (2024) Advances in understanding cognition in animals. Ch.4 in L.Levitt, D. B. Rosengard, J.Rubin (eds.) Animals as Crime Victims: Multidisciplinary implications of moving beyond the property paradigm. (pp.53-66) Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781802209884.00012      3. Kaplan, G. (2023). Evolution of human language: duetting as part of prosociality and cognition. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2023.1004384       4.  Kaplan, G., Rogers L.J. (2021) Brain size associated with foot preferences in Australian parrots, Symmetry, 13, 867.  https://doi.org/10.3390/sym13050867     5. Kaplan, G. (2021) Psittacine (Parrot) cognition (10,000 word entry) Encyclopaedic essays (by invitation only)-Encyclopaedia of Animal Behaviour and Animal Cognition. Ed. by Jennifer Vonk, Todd K. Shackelford, Springer International Publishing AG/Nature , 6330 Cham, Switzerland Springer     6. Kaplan, G. (2020). Play behaviour, not tool using, relates to brain mass in a sample of birds. Scientific Reports, 10, 20437. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-76572-7     7. Kaplan, G. (2020) Visual recognition (5,000 word entry). Encyclopaedic essays (by invitation only)-Encyclopaedia of Animal Behaviour and Animal Cognition. Ed. by Jennifer Vonk, Todd K. Shackelford, Springer International Publishing AG/Nature , 6330 Cham, Switzerland Springer     8. Kaplan, G. (2020) Of great apes and magpies: initiations into animal behaviour. Animals, 10, 848; Special Issue: 'Encountering Animals', Ed. L. Irvine. doi:10.3390/ani10050848      9. Kaplan, G. (2020) Mimicry (5,000 word entry). Encyclopaedic essays (by invitation only)-Encyclopaedia of Animal Behaviour and Animal Cognition. Ed. by Jennifer Vonk, Todd K. Shackelford, Springer International Publishing AG/Nature, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Springer     10. Kaplan, G. (2020) Long-term attachments and complex cognition in birds and humans are linked to pre-reproductive prosociality and cooperation. Constructing a hypothesis. Annals of Cognitive Science 4 (2), 127-142. https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/29577     11. Kaplan, G. (2018). Passerine Cognition. (10,000 word entry): In: Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Ed. by Jennifer Vonk, Todd K. Shackelford, Springer International Publishing AG/Nature , 6330 Cham, Switzerland. Podcast Credits: Produced by: Imogen Hüsing, Clara Kühne, Sophie Kühne, Sönke Lülf and Elisa Palme Logo by: Annika Richter Music by: Jan-Luca Schröder Write us an email to: kaleidopod@uos.de Contact us on Instagram: @kaleidoscience_pod

    1h 30m
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About

Kaleidoscience is a podcast interviewing guests across the field of Cognitive Science. We explore questions such as what it means to be conscious, what AI might think, how the brain processes language - and much more. Find the answers to questions you may or may not have asked yourself. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaleidoscience_pod/ Produced by: Imogen Hüsing, Clara Kühne, Sophie Kühne, Sönke Lülf and Elisa Palme Logo by: Annika Richter Music by: Jan-Luca Schröder

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